Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Americans are generally open to AI handling administrative and medical tasks, but they largely don’t want AI operating without human oversight. About half (47%) say AI will make the relationship between patients and their doctors worse, compared with 10% who say it will make it better.
New findings, delivered monthly
All
Publications
Twenty years after a landmark Supreme Court decision, Americans are still fighting over the teaching of creationism and other alternatives to evolution in the nation’s schools.
by David Masci, Senior Research Fellow, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Twenty years ago, on June 19, 1987, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that dramatically reshaped the debate over teaching evolution in public schools. In Edwards v. Aguillard, the high court struck down a Louisiana law requiring that schools teach creation […]
The evolution controversy, traditionally a state and local issue, has vaulted into the national political arena, making a surprise appearance at the first Republican presidential candidate debate on May 3 and garnering a large amount of press attention
Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.
Majorities across 20 publics say government investments in scientific research are worthwhile and express a lot or some confidence in scientists to do what is right for the public.
Majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050. But just 31% want to phase out fossil fuels completely, and many foresee unexpected problems in a major transition to renewable energy.
Majorities say scientific research on gene editing is a misuse – rather than an appropriate use – of technology. But public acceptance of gene editing for babies depends on how it will be used, and views often differ by age and religion.
